The present invention generally relates to a vessel for dispensing steam or moisture into a clothes drying environment, and particularly to a vessel for dispensing steam or moisture to a batch of clothes that has been left in a clothes dryer for a period of time following termination of the drying cycle.
For many families and individuals, the task of washing and drying clothing, towels, and other articles is ongoing. Quite often, as one batch of clothing articles is completed, another is ready to begin. Even with the aid of advanced washing machines and clothes dryers, washing and drying clothing articles can become an obligation that quickly fills an entire day. Washing and drying cycles for conventional washing machines and clothes dryers can have varied lengths, depending on the size of the batch of clothing articles to be washed and dried. Inevitably, busy families and individuals can lose track of the status of a batch of clothing articles during one of these cycles. As a result, it is not at all uncommon for a batch of clothing articles to sit unattended in a washing machine or clothes dryer following termination of the corresponding cycle.
In particular, with respect to the drying component of the overall process, a batch of clothing articles that is left unattended following termination of the drying cycle can become wrinkled, matted, or clumped together if left for a prolonged period of time. When this occurs, individual clothing articles may be virtually unusable without being refreshed. In order to refresh the batch of clothing articles following termination of the drying cycle, individuals may consider restarting the drying cycle so as to “fluff” the batch of clothing articles before removal from the clothes dryer. However, such attempts to refresh often do not assist with the removal of wrinkles from individual articles because the batch of clothing articles is already dry. As such, a need exists for a device or method that is capable of refreshing a batch of clothing articles that has been left in a clothes dryer for a period of time following termination of the drying cycle.
Conventional drying aids, such as dryer sheets and dryer balls, are intended for use in connection with a batch of clothing articles at the beginning of the drying cycle when the clothing articles are still wet from the washing cycle. Dryer sheets typically assist with softening the underlying fabric of the clothing articles and may reduce static between individual clothing articles during the drying cycle. Dryer balls typically facilitate greater air flow between clothing articles during the drying cycle, thereby enhancing the drying process by increasing air circulation in the clothes dryer. However, these conventional drying aids are unable to assist in refreshing or removing wrinkles from a batch of clothing articles that is already dry.
Therefore, a need exists for improvement in the field of drying aids for conventional clothes dryers, and particularly in connection with refreshing a batch of clothing articles that has been left in a clothes dryer for a period of time following termination of the drying cycle. This, and other needs, is addressed by one or more aspects of the present invention.